Muse Poem by M.A. Wood

Her voice rang through eternity, A life of loneliness,
Echoing through the ages of men.
It rang clear,
The voice of pain,
The muse sang her soul,
Sang her heart and mind,
Bringing us mortals to tears.
We did not know,
Did not comprehend,
The thing which pained us so,
But one wished, and wanted,
So I went.
The wind blew heavy,
Striking upon my face,
The sun beat upon my face and back,
I marched upon the mountain,
And soon could not go on.
I sat upon a rock,
And begged to every cloud,
To stop above me,
And shield me from the heat of the sun.
No cloud came,
No slight breeze,
Only a fierce sun,
And ruthless wind,
Killing me slow and painfully.
My eyes closed,
Closed to rest,
Rest from pain,
Pain and hurt,
Hurt which struck my very core.
Then,
I heard it,
The voice,
My prize,
The very thing my body ached for,
My mind yearned for,
My soul demanded.
I crawled to the rock cleft,
To a shadow filled cavern,
The voice,
Came from here.
I got upon my feet and stumbled,
Deep I went,
To the heart of mother earth it seemed,
Till her voice rang clear.
She sat before me,
Caressing a broken skull,
Tears swept down her pale cheeks,
Black midnight hair,
Streamed down upon her form,
She sat naked upon an obsidian stone throne.
Her eyes were closed from the world, Her song sang to the dead.
Suddenly her eyes opened upon me, I stumbled,
And fell backwards.
A small smile crept upon her face,
And she began to sing anew.
I shook,
I did not know how to talk to this,
This...nymph.
She cried as she sang,
And her tears were of pain,
And she made my heart sing,
But of two songs.
I got upon my knees,
And the first song,
Sprang from my lips:
“Why do you cry, sweet nymph? ”
“My love has died, he is simply gone, the only one, simply gone...”
She spoke and I did not know what to do...
I’ve never heard such beauty,
Yet so sorrowful as well...
I got up,
And slowly walked to her,
Then fell before her feet.
The room was lit by nothing,
Nothing but her face.
“But why do you hold him so? ”
“Because he was the only one, and after he passed, my life took no pleasure then this.”
Then she looked at me, and asked.
“And why are you, a mortal man, scarred and bruised and cut, here? What compelled you to come to such a dark place? ”
Then the second song sprang from my lips:
“I needed to know why, why every morning I awoke to a voice singing in my head, why my heart sang of sorrow, and yet, of love.”
“Love? No person, mortal or otherwise, said such a word to me, why do you say it now? ”
Her eyes grew curious, her grip on the skull grew weak, and fro beneath her chest, I could hear, her heart beat faster.
I reached out my hand,
And touched hers,
Hers a bright star under my rough worn hands.
She did not move, only looked at me, wondering, curious, like a newborn in a toy filled
room.
Finally I said:
“Because, I love you, every morning I awake to a voice, and only a voice, yet I always wait for the bearer. The one I love, you.”
Her eyes closed, and her hand left mine.
“We could never be I am thousands of years old, and you look less then twenty. For us to be together, you must be one of me, a vampire.”
“Then will I be.”
Her eyes opened at this.
“You would become damned, for me? ”
“Yes.”
“Then you shall be, but you must do one thing.”
“What? Anything! ”
“Every queen has a mate, the mate dies, but if it is willing, then it will survive.” “Then so will I be.”
I knew I must have her,
Feel her,
Know her body and her touch,
And if I must be damned to immortality,
Then so be it.
Her eyes grew wide with worry,
But with something familiar,
For she saw it in mine.
“You would willingly forget the life you had,
To be damned for eternity, for me? ”
“Yes.”
She reached out her hand, and touched my face,
Her hand was warm,
Soft as silk,
And somehow familiar.
This muse,
My way to a heaven known to no one but me, kissed me, and with every bit of energy, took me.
And thus, I was damned, but blessed to be with her:
My love.